games for tiels

[sweetie&meli]

hey , bird lovers

i sometimes feel like mt tiel baby is bord so i wanted to know is there any game i can play with her, make her happy (not that shes not) just even with toys she gets fussy she'll play a while then get bord, :?:

also today i put her powder vitamin in her water as directed but when she went to drink she just sat there with her head up made a funny sound like coughing , i changed the water right away and put it in her food instead? but what was happingn to her ,why did she make that coughing sound? it scared me to death :?:

[smallonion]

My mom's bird loves to play ball. She has a stuffed animal type ball, and when she rolls it to the parrot, the parrot flings it back with her beak. All she has to do now is say "get the ball!" and the bird will do it!

The cockatiel I watched for a while LOVED to chew things. He loved cuttlebone so much, he would really go to town on it. I didn't try, but I bet he would have loved safe natural branches to chew, too.. Why not try adding things lile this for your bird to chew.

I'll let you know if I think of more.

Michele and Humphrey

[robotralph]

Dont worry too much about playing games with your teil, keep a couple of toys handy for them to play with, change them out regularly, fresh plants of a safe kindis good for them to chew on, decorative pepper plants are one of my groups favorites, grasses sprouted fromt he left over seed is also good, never add vitas to water it causes it to breed bacteria in the water, sprinkle if needed on food. but if you really want to make your teil real happy simply spend as much time as you can with it sitting on your arm, sleeping or what ever, they just want you close as that is their nature as a flock bird.

[sweetie&meli]

thanx for the advice , what i usally do is whenim on the pc i just open the cage and she comes on her cage where she has plenty of fruits and veggies daily and some of her fav cereal (just right) no sugur and not much fat its very healthy, she also has her sprouted plants made from her very own food ,

[smallonion]

Here's a nice link about playing with birds

http://www.geocities.com/marysixty/toysandplaying.html

Also, there is a popular parrot care book that has in its first chapter, "games to play with birds". I think it's "Guide to a well-behaved parrot" . Does anyone know?

Some larger parrots like to play under blankets. My mom's amazon does. My mom hides under the blanket with the bird. Other birds like the "they throw the toy, you pick it up" just like toddlers do.

TWo more things I do with my bird, and my mom does with hers - we play "whistle back" or "yell back" when in a different room than the bird. You can start or the bird can start. In the wild, when the flock is not around, the bird will sometimes yell to see where everyone is. They often do this in the home, too. My mom and her parrot do a great whistle back game - she will change the whistle and the bird will repeat it, sometimes the bird changes the whistle and my mom repeats it. Next time you leave the room and your bird squawks, yell back to him, "I'm right here sweet heart!" and he might yell back to you. Then it's your turn again.

Another game I play with Humphrey is one which I learned from that book I'm trying to remember above. It was under the title, "games for shy parrots" (which mine was at first). The author called the game "I can't possibly look at you". THe idea is, look at your parrot in the eyes briefly (not too long, that is agressive) then look away, closing your eyes. Then sneak a peek at the bird, and look away. When the bird "gets' this game, it's hysterical. Humphrey and I do it all the time. The idea is that both of you have your eyes closed or your head averted, and you try to catch the other one looking at you. It's very funny. Humphrey understood it quickly!
MIchele and Humph

[Feather Heaven]

Excellent book! Taught me bunches.

Michelle

[sweetie&meli]

they all sound so fun . i had a quick question ? when my b/f takes my tiel out on her cage on top he rubs her back and she puts her bum up ans dose a chicken sound until he stops , what excatly dose that mean?

is she in heat or juts enjoying it? lol

[Monica]

She's enjoying it.... She's enjoying way too much! I don't call this in heat for birds, but what she is displaying is the act of being mounted as she sees your b/f as her mate and calling out to him. He should stop this immediately as it gives her the idea that she may be mated with and may lay eggs, which can be hard on her body.